Switched Around
Switched Around Additional Info: What if the Hunger Games was told from Peeta's point of view? Can you even imagine it? This is only his perspective for Book 1 of the Hunger Games, but more coming soon. You'll be updated with news as you read, so get to it! P.S.: Small things from the plot may be changed, just to make it more interesting...hehe Prologue Are you ready to begin? Good. Now let's dive back a few years.... It was pouring outside, raindrops slamming on the bakery windows. My father was busy sorting through the list of ingredients we needed to get while my mother was making sweets, consisting of cookies and cakes. I was left to bake the bread. A simple job, really. I couldn't help but notice the girl outside our window, digging in our trash. She's from The Seam. I can tell just by looking at her ragged and torn up clothes. When she lifts her face, I feel a flash of recognition. It's Katniss Everdeen. I remember my father telling me about her once. "Who's that?' I had asked him when he was picking me up from school. I pointed at Katniss. I had noticed her because my father seemed to be staring at her mother. "That's Katniss Everdeen. I wanted to marry her mother, you know. She ran off with some coal miner before I could propose, though," he had told be in reply. "Why?" I asked. "Because when he whistles, even the birds stop to listen," I recall him saying. The rest of that scene was vague in my mind. I tried not to stare, because my mother would notice that my attention was attracted to what was outside the window instead of the bread, and also because she generally hated anyone from The Seam. She calls them peasants. She views them as people who were raised to steal and do wrong, even though most of them don't. Unfortunately, I didn't do too well hiding my attention from the window. My mother stomped to the window and when she saw what was outside, she threw her spatula in her hand to the floor and went outside in the cold rain. "You peasant! Get away from my home! If you come back again, I will ''call the Peacekeepers," she screeched at Katniss. Katniss shrinks back and she retreats into the woods, hoping my mother won't notice that she hasn't left. Lucky for her, she didn't. But I did. I was suddenly hurrying to finish making the base for the bread so I could pretend to accidently burn it and give at least a portion to Katniss. I could only hope that she would stay long enough. After a while, I was finally ready. Everything went as planned and I burned the bread. My mother notices it, and she loses it. She takes her rolling pin and uses it to bash against my head, and all I can do is clench my teeth and wait for it to end. After that was over, she told me to go feed the bread to the pigs. "No one decent will buy it," she said, her face disgusted. Clearly, she was thinking of Katniss. She just plain ''wanted her to starve. I felt my stomach tie up into a knot. "Yes ma'am," was all I said in response as I walked out the front door and onto the steps. I saw Katniss still leaning against that same tree, and when she heard the door creak open, her eyes flickered towards me. She sighed in relief knowing it wasn't my mother and calmed down again. I split the bread into two portions. One for the pigs, one for Katniss. She seemed to notice that I had broken the bread in halves, and her eyes narrowed. She began to become suspicious. I was saddened by this. Couldn't she just believe that I was doing this out of the kindness of my heart? i tossed the bread to the pigs first so that my mother could hear that i obeyed her orders. Then, I tossed one towards Katniss. She jumped up in surprise, looking at me. She then looked at the pigs, as if ensuring herself that what I gave her wasn't poisonous, or something. How silly. She smiled so wide I could see her full set of teeth, and I saw her resisting the urge to eat it all up then. But she was selfless, and I knew she was going to wait until she got home to share it with her family. That's the Katniss Everdeen that has been in my mind every since that day. Eeek! So, do you like it? Any comments? Yes, no? Hope you're enjoying it so far! More coming soon. Chapter 1: Rabbit I know, chapter name sounds weird. Don't question it! As you read, it'll start to make more sense. =) Alright, keep reading now! I was woken up in the morning to the sound of my father's voice. I looked out the window to get a good measure of what the time was. I stuck my head out and inhaled some fresh air.The sun was just coming up. A soft orange streaked the sky. My favorite color. Not that anybody knew it, of course. I got up from the bed swiftly and quietly went to the source of my father's voice. "Yes, of course, Miss Everdeen! I would have Peeta come out here and chat with y'all a bit, but I believe he's still asleep," my father told Katniss, and probably Gale because he said, "y'all". Those two are practically inseparable. If only I had a friendship like that. I would give so much up for that. So, so much. Never enough, though. I'm pretty sure deep down he knew that I was awake, though. "Oh, alright," Katniss said, sounding disappointed. Why would she sound disappointed? Hmm. "Well..we'd better be going. I need to get Katniss home now," Gale said to my father. He wanted to get Katniss away from here. Away from me. "Goodbye, now! Stay safe! And Happy Hunger Games!" my father said with enthusiasm, though keeping his voice soft to avoid waking up my mother. "And may the odds," said the voice that I was now sure of was Gale because of the deep tone before he broke off into laughter. "Be ever in your favor!" Katniss finished. She didn't sound as disappointed, but I could tell something was bothering her from the tone of her voice. Gale seemed to distract her from whatever was bothering her, though. My father walked to where I was standing holding a large squirrel with an arrow in it, straight in the eye. My mother had finally waken up. "Get something from The Seam again?" my mother asked, disgusted. "It's from Katniss Everdeen. I know you two don't have the best history, but look at this squirrel! Shot straight in the eye. Perfection, as always," my father boasted as if Katniss was his own child. My mother raised an eyebrow, seeming impressed. It was nice to have a change from so much bread. When we were in the midst of eating, my mother said to the entire family (I have two brothers, John and Julian) "You know, I'd almost like for this Katniss Everdeen to get reaped. Not only because I have a bad history with her, but as your father said, this very squirrel was shot straight in the eye by her. If she was reaped, maybe District 12 would finally have a victor," my mother said to us. "Don't you think so, Peeta," my mother asked me, trying to torment me. "Course," I replied, keeping my voice steady. And that was the end of that. Do you get why I named the title of this chapter "Rabbit" now? Hopefully you do! Be prepared for the next chapter....here, I'll give you a sneak peek. The name of the next chapter will be "The Reaping" . =) Chapter 2: The Reaping Be prepared. Anything can happen. The Reaping. Every parent and child's nightmare. But for the Capitol, it's just a game. A game. Watching people fight to the death and then rewarding whoever outlasts the other? It's sick. Everyone who is reaped is just like another piece in the Capitol's games. Our lives are never ours. Never. After an entire day of prepping (which I won't go into because it was just a lot of clothing adjusting and food) , The Reaping was finally beginning. I was in the crowd with everyone else, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gale Hawthorne. He was mouthing something to Katniss, from what I could tell, because she was smiling in reply. Finally, after a long wait, a woman who was practically consumed with makeup and had on some obnoxious clothes with a perky hat walked to the platform. I'm sure many saw her clothing as a luxury from the Capitol. I saw it as unfairness. Effie Trinket. "Good afternoon, District 12!" she said in a cheery voice. "As you all know, we have all gathered here for The Reaping of for the 74th Annual Hunger Games!" she said excitedly, clapping her hands together. "Today, one courageous young man and woman will have the honor to participate in this event, representing District 12," she continued. I couldn't take my mind off of how squeaky and enthusiastic she sounded. I suppose it's the Capitol's fault for that. "As usual, ladies first," she says as she walks over to the huge jar of names. She shuffled them slightly and plucked out a card.She walked back to the microphone and opened up the slip carefully. I noticed her nails were painted. Another luxury of being part of the Capitol. I can't help but wonder if it's Katniss. She must have had her name entered at least 20 times this year in order for her family to have enough supplies to live on, and I doubt she let her sister enter more than once. Her sister is only 12, the minimum age for The Reaping. "Primrose Everdeen," Effie said, loud and clear. I turned my head and I saw Prim's face. She looked surprised, scared, and frightened. "Is there a Primrose Everdeen?" Effie repeated into the microphone. She didn't seem impatient because her voice was gentle. I saw the crowd of children around Prim turn to face her. Prim shuffled uncomfortably. She tucked in her shirt that was sticking out of her skirt. Prim started slowly walking towards the platform where Effie was standing, but Katniss stopped her right as she was about to go onto the platform.The Peacekeepers held her back. "No! Stop! Let me go! I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute," she screamed, fighting past the Peacekeepers. Her scream echos throughout District 12. Prim's mouth dropped in shock. She shook her head, even though I'm sure deep down inside she was so grateful that her sister was offering to take her place in the cruel and brutal games. No matter how selfless someone could be, you never volunteer because you genuinely want to be kind and you want to take their place without hesitation, it is usually for family and for people that have trained for their entire lives, which is good for both in that situation. If you have trained for your entire life, you help the person that has been reaped, still satisfying yourself. This wasn't the case today. Katniss held her shoulder and whispered her something that I couldn't hear. In the end, all I could hear were Prim's scream of protest, and Effie's voice in the microphone. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Katniss. Gale went up and dragged Prim back, and I saw a flicker of pain flash through Katniss's eyes. "Why, I suppose we have a volunteer!" Effie said, patting Katniss softly on the shoulder. "District 12's first!" she added as Katniss slowly walked up the staircase. "What's your name, dear child?" she asked Katniss, more gently and quietly now. Katniss had just made it up to the platform and was trembling so hard that it was like there was an earthquake. "Katniss Everdeen," she whispered into the microphone. I swear I saw a tear drip down her face. And another. And another. "Why, I bet my buttons that was your sister, wasn't it," Effie said. I saw Katniss's eyes trail off towards Prim. "Yes," she murmured. "Let's have a hand for our very first volunteer, Katniss Everdeen," Effie said, clapping her hands together, expecting the crowd to join her. But they didn't. In unison, all of District 12 pressed their left hand to their lips and raised three fingers. It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means goodbye to someone you love. "And now, for the boys," Effie said after a few seconds of us showing our respect to Katniss. Effie walks over again to the jar of names, but this time to the opposite side. This jar contained the names of the boys. Again, she does her little perky smile and shuffles the names, eventually choosing one and walking back to the microphone to open it. "Peeta Mellark," she says into the microphone. I freeze and my forehead creases. Is there another Peeta Mellark in District 12? No, there isn't. Again, just as the girls did around Primrose when her name was called, the boys around me shift uncomfortably. I can tell my brothers show no sign of volunteering for me, so I slowly walk up to the platform. I feel like my heart is about to jump out of my chest, and I focus on taking steady breaths. As I'm walking up, I still have hope that one of my brothers will have the heart to volunteer for me, but their voices that I expect never come. I walk up the stairs and Effie pats me on the shoulder just as she did with Katniss. "Here we are, our tributes from District 12 for the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark," Effie says triumphantly, for some reason. "Come on now, shake hands you too," she tells us. I see Katniss's face, conflicted. I can tell from the look of her eyes that she remembers the bread. She knows that I'm alive. So I guess none of it was for nothing. Our hands shake, and when I feel my soft flesh touch hers, bruised with blisters, at that moment, I know that I will fight to keep her alive. This is the moment that I have been more certain then ever that I love her. That I love her so much I would die. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds, be ever in your favor," Any suggestions? Hope you enjoy! Updates coming soon! Chapter 3: Repeat I shifted uncomfortably inside of my chair, which was made of pure velvet. The room was very empty, and the walls were painted a pure white and the floor was made of white tiles outlined with a thin line of blue. Or so it was. The mud clinging on to the bottom of my shoes had stained the flawless floor. Not that I really cared. My first visitor came in, a plump girl with blonde hair that bounced around her shoulders. It was Delly. Delly Cartwright. Long time childhood, er....I guess friend. "Peeta!" she exclaimed as she skipped in the room, flashing her white teeth. "Sorry I took so long. You have absolutely no idea how much convincing it took to get me in here. I insisted that we were long time friends, and after some begging, they finally let me in!"she said to me, explaining why it took so long for her to come. "That's alright. You're here now, so that's all that matters," I say to her. She flashes her white smile again, and this time her dimples appear, enhancing her smile. I can't help but smile myself. "Er, umm, good luck in The Games! I bet you'll win," Delly murmured, unsure of what to say because I was literally being sent to my death. "Sure, sure," I muttered in reply. The Peacekeepers finally came in and took their gloved hands and put them on Delly's shoulders. "Your time is up," one of them said in a robotic tone.